*

S&P 500, Nasdaq gain; Dow drops

*

Tesla shares hit record high

*

Healthcare stocks tank after bipartisan bill

*

Dow dips 0.01%, S&P 500 up 0.86%, Nasdaq up 1.74%

(Updates to 2:20 PM ET)

By Chibuike Oguh, Purvi Agarwal and Shashwat Chauhan

NEW YORK, Dec 11 (Reuters) -

Wall Street stocks jumped on Wednesday as a rally in tech

stocks boosted the Nasdaq above the 20,000-point milestone for

the first time, after a U.S. inflation report boosted

expectations of a Federal Reserve interest rate cut.

A Labor Department report showed U.S. consumer prices in

November increased by the most in seven months, though broadly

in line with market expectations.

Benchmark S&P 500 index and Nasdaq were higher while the Dow

retreated from early gains in choppy trading. Five of the 11

major S&P 500 sectors advanced, led by gains in communication

services, technology and consumer discretionary services.

Healthcare and utilities stocks were the biggest losers.

"Nasdaq is rallying on the prospect of a rate cut next week

and has room to move higher," said Peter Cardillo, chief market

economist at Spartan Capital Securities.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 4.93 points, or

0.01%, to 44,242.90, the S&P 500 rose 51.89 points, or

0.86%, to 6,086.80 and the Nasdaq Composite rose 341.80

points, or 1.74%, to 20,029.04.

Markets are pricing in more than a 96% chance the Fed will

cut rates by 25 basis points next week, up from an 86% chance

before the data, according to CME's FedWatch Tool. Bets had

risen following Friday's employment report, which showed an

uptick in unemployment alongside a surge in job growth.

The yield on benchmark U.S. 10-year notes rose

5.2 basis points to 4.273%.

"The equity market seems to be breathing a sigh of relief

that this is another steady-as-she-goes report," said Wasif

Latif, chief investment officer at Sarmaya Partners in New

Jersey. "There's no surprises. It seems the equity market was

braced for a higher than expected number."

Tesla shares climbed nearly 4% to a record high as

the electric vehicle maker extended a rally in the wake of the

U.S. presidential election.

Nvidia ( NVDA ) and other megacap growth stocks, including

Alphabet and Amazon ( AMZN ) were also trading higher,

adding between 0.2% and 4.6%.

Pharmacy benefit managers, including Cigna ( CI ), CVS

Health ( CVS ), and UnitedHealth Group ( UNH ), lost ground

after a bipartisan group of lawmakers introduced a bill that

would force health insurers or drug middlemen to divest their

pharmacy businesses.

GameStop ( GME ) gained 8% after the videogame retailer

reported a profit for the third quarter on cost-saving efforts.

Broadcom ( AVGO ) jumped 5.7% following a report that Apple ( AAPL )

is working with the company to develop its first server

chip specially designed for artificial intelligence.

Macy's shed 2.2% after the department-store bellwether

cut its annual profit forecast as persistent weakness in demand

clouded its expectations for the holiday shopping season.

Advancing issues outnumbered decliners by a 1.53-to-1 ratio

on the NYSE. On the Nasdaq, 2,405 stocks rose and 1,857 fell as

advancing issues outnumbered decliners by a 1.3-to-1 ratio.

The S&P 500 posted 21 new 52-week highs and 6 new lows

while the Nasdaq Composite recorded 102 new highs and 103 new

lows.